Comedy

Rob Brydon

Last time Rob Brydon played live, he had his lovable alter ego, the divorced chauffeur Keith Barret, to hide behind. These days, he's a big enough name to dispense with the disguise. One of the stars of hit sitcom Gavin and Stacey and a singer on this year's Comic Relief single, Brydon is revelling in his celebrity status and, à la Ricky Gervais, he crows about it tonight. But there's a blurred line between sending up one's self-love and just seeming charmless (cuddly Keith used to supply the warmth). The paucity of Brydon's material, meanwhile, suggests a man keener to savour his current popularity than to add to it.

Rob Brydon

New Victoria,

Woking

At Nottingham Royal Centre tomorrow, then touring

Box office:
0115 989 5555

The show starts on a bum note, when Brydon tells us that, since finding fame, he has traded in his wife for a younger, blonder model. There follows a priapic routine about conceiving his fourth child, in which Brydon imagines himself competing on Strictly Come Shagging. It's hard to believe this comes from the imagination that spawned the subtle, heartfelt Marion and Geoff. But it's the same story elsewhere. Brydon shamelessly overplays the gormless Welsh stereotypes - we get a Welsh Spider-Man, a Welsh satnav and several pop songs sung, supposedly hilariously, in a thick Welsh accent.

The thinness of this material isn't easy to fathom, because Brydon clearly has funny bones. He is quick-witted (if sometimes cruel) with his audience, he treads a fine line in comic fastidiousness and he's a terrific mimic (I liked his Ronnie Corbett as Darth Vader: "Luke, I am your father - but first, Barbara Dickson!") These talents will coalesce again into a fine live show, but for now, Brydon seems content to bask in old glories.

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